IT is extremely rare, if not completely unprecedented, for a member of a murder victim's family to come forward and testify on oath that the man sentenced for their death is innocent of the crime.

 

But that is the extraordinary case we have here with Tim Darby, elder brother of stab victim Robert, who told investigating police officers and the Appeal judges that Jason Moore did NOT commit the crime for which he has been sentenced to a minimum of 18 years.

 

Tim added his powerful support to the campaign to free Moore immediately following the Old Bailey verdict in December 2013.

 

He was very unhappy with the outcome of the trial, to the extent that he sent a three-page (A4) handwritten letter to Judge Hilliard QC, pointing out in no uncertain terms that the jury convicted the wrong man and explaining his reasons why.

 

Tim contacted Jason Moore's family and offered to appear as a defence witness for Jason at his 2017 appeal. He gave an s9 statement and at the hearing repeated his previous comments about Moore's innocence.

 

He knows who stabbed his brother. So do The Met officers who worked on the case, plus half of Essex and east London.

 

We won't go into the full details here but the following brief comments are extracts from Tim Darby's witness statement, dated October 31, 2014:

 

I provide this statement in respect of the case of Jason Moore who I understand is preparing to appeal against his conviction for the murder of my brother Robert Darby in 2005. I have made this statement because of 

concerns I personally had in relation to the safety of Mr Moore's conviction which have arisen following information I have received after the trial.

 

I have provided this statement to assist in uncovering the truth about what has happened in my brother's case.

 

. . . I would like to finish the statement by saying that I was very close with Robert and would wish for the truth to be established as to what really happened to him when he died. I am willing for this statement to be lodged in support of any appeal by Mr Moore and to attend Court if necessary.

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Showing the courage of his unwavering convictions, Tim did duly appear at the Court of Appeal in March 2017. He gave the trio of judges his well-informed opinions on the respective roles played by Moore, ***** and Paul Hunt but they were virtually dismissed.

 

Instead, the judges chose to uphold the jury's verdict and believe the very flimsy, conflicting evidence of an eye-witness who initially told police that he would not be able to identify anyone involved in the incident.

 

Tim Darby is an old school East Ender. He will not let this miscarriage of justice rest and is continuing to assist the reinvestigation.

 

"Why did I get involved? It's a matter of principle," he says.